Amanda did not simply provide competent and compassionate care to my mother who was struggling with a fatal case of septic shock, but she extended that care and heartfelt consideration to our whole family. Her kindness, her humanity, and her ability to (and willingness to) approach and speak to my father in a way that reached him allowed my mother to pass on with less pain, trauma, and suffering—and for that, I and our entire family will be forever grateful.

In the ICU, my mother was cared for by the best of the best—the strongest and most courageous in their fields—whether referencing the doctors, nurses, or other allied health professionals that cared for her—all were remarkable in their own ways. Amanda is a shining star in that already exalted group.

Amanda is the type of nurse we all hope to have when we are forced to enter a hospital setting for a health issue. She is a stellar exemplar of what nursing could and should be when people are struggling with the loss of control and the fragility of life that is often faced in a hospital setting—especially in the ICU. Amanda made an unthinkable, impossible, excruciating moment in all of our lives bearable, and we were able to get through that moment to the next, and on forward. I’m not a religious person, but if I were ever to believe there were angels on earth, I’d believe she was one.